N-Demethylsinomenine Relieves Neuropathic Pain in Male Mice Mainly via Regulating α2-Subtype GABA Receptors.

Aims: N-Demethylsinomenine (NDSM) demonstrates good analgesic efficacy in preclinical pain models. However, how NDSM exerts analgesic actions remains unknown.

Methods: We examined the analgesic effects of NDSM using both pain-evoked and pain-suppressed behavioral assays in two persistent pain models.

Preclinical Pharmacokinetics and Bioavailability of Oxypeucedanin in Rats after Single Intravenous and Oral Administration.

Oxypeucedanin, a furanocoumarin extracted from many traditional Chinese herbal medicines, has a variety of pharmacological effects. However, the independent pharmacokinetic characteristics and bioavailability of this compound remains elusive. In this study, a rapid, sensitive, and selective method using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS) was developed for evaluating the intravenous and oral pharmacokinetics of oxypeucedanin.

N-Demethylsinomenine, an active metabolite of sinomenine, attenuates chronic neuropathic and inflammatory pain in mice.

Chronic pain is a significant public health problem that afflicts nearly 30% of the global population, but current pharmacotherapies are insufficient. Previous report indicated that N-demethylsinomenine, an active metabolite of sinomenine, is efficacious against postoperative pain. The present study investigated whether N-demethylsinomenine is effective for chronic painful conditions or whether repeated treatment alters its effect.

Lockdown Contained the Spread of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease in Huangshi City, China: Early Epidemiological Findings.

Background: To control the spread of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), China sealed Wuhan on 23 January 2020 and soon expanded lockdown to 12 other cities in Hubei province. We aimed to describe the epidemiological characteristics in one of the cities and highlight the effect of current implemented lockdown and nonpharmaceutical interventions.

Methods: We retrieved data of reported cases in Huangshi and Wuhan from publicly available disease databases.

Effects of Propofol General Anesthesia on Olfactory Relearning.

How general anesthesia interferes with sensory processing to cause amnesia remains unclear. Here, we show that activation of a learning-associated immediate early gene in rat olfactory cortices is uninterrupted by propofol, an intravenous general anesthetic with putative actions on the inhibitory GABAA receptors. Once learned under anesthesia, a novel odor can no longer re-activate the same high-level transcription programming during subsequent conscious relearning.

Immune Modulation by Volatile Anesthetics.

Volatile general anesthetics continue to be an important part of clinical anesthesia worldwide. The impact of volatile anesthetics on the immune system has been investigated at both mechanistic and clinical levels, but previous studies have returned conflicting findings due to varied protocols, experimental environments, and subject species. While many of these studies have focused on the immunosuppressive effects of volatile anesthetics, compelling evidence also exists for immunoactivation.

Ligustilide prevents cognitive impairment and attenuates neurotoxicity in D-galactose induced aging mice brain.

Ligustilide (LIG) is a principal active ingredient of traditional Chinese medicine, Radix Angelica sinensis, which has versatile pharmacological activities including neuroprotection. Previous studies have demonstrated that LIG has beneficial effects on cognition deficits associated with cerebral damage or neurodegenerative disorders. In present study, we investigated the neuroprotective effect of LIG on cognitive impairment and neurotoxicity in the brain of aging mouse induced by d-galactose (d-gal).

Location- and Subunit-Specific NMDA Receptors Determine the Developmental Sevoflurane Neurotoxicity Through ERK1/2 Signaling.

It is well established that developmental exposure of sevoflurane (an inhalational anesthetic) is capable of inducing neuronal apoptosis and subsequent learning and memory disorders. Synaptic NMDA receptors activity plays an essential role in cell survival, while the extra-synaptic NMDA receptors activation is usually associated with cell death. However, whether synaptic or extra-synaptic NMDA receptors mediate developmental sevoflurane neurotoxicity is largely unknown.

Inhibition of aberrant cyclin-dependent kinase 5 activity attenuates isoflurane neurotoxicity in the developing brain.

Aberrant CDK5 activity is implicated in a number of neurodegenerative disorders. Isoflurane exposure leads to neuronal apoptosis, and subsequent learning and memory defects in the developing brain. The present study was designed to examine whether and how CDK5 activity plays a role in developmental isoflurane neurotoxicity.

Chinese medicine approach in clinical practice for breast cancer survivors.

A Chinese medicine (CM) approach, designed based on the clinical experiences of the West Los Angeles Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, is a practical path for assessing and treating breast cancer survivors. The approach consists of balancing the body with deciphering the cause of the patient's chief complaints by assessing and recognizing the six physiological dysfunctions that include gastrointestinal problems, sleeps problems, emotional imbalance, low body energy, menstrual change and pain. Multifaceted interventions are used for eliminating various CM pathologies based on identifying the basic CM patterns (syndromes) differentiation.

Patient education integrated with acupuncture for relief of cancer-related fatigue randomized controlled feasibility study.

Background: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a prominent clinical problem. There are calls for multi-modal interventions.

Methods: We assessed the feasibility of delivering patient education integrated with acupuncture for relief of CRF in a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) with breast cancer survivors using usual care as control.

Neuroprotective effect of astaxanthin on H(2)O(2)-induced neurotoxicity in vitro and on focal cerebral ischemia in vivo.

Astaxanthin (AST) is a powerful antioxidant that occurs naturally in a wide variety of living organisms. Much experimental evidence has proved that AST has the function of eliminating oxygen free radicals and can protect organisms from oxidative damage. The present study was carried out to further investigate the neuroprotective effect of AST on oxidative stress induced toxicity in primary culture of cortical neurons and on focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion induced brain damage in rats.

[SiRNA targeting ICP4 attenuates HSV-1 replication].

HSV-1, a neurotropic virus, always leads to severe nervous symptoms. It is hard to completely eradicate the latent viruses after conventional therapy so that recurrence is inevitable. ICP is a key regulator for HSV replication and transcription that determines the cytolytic infection or latent state.

[The protective effects of ginkgolide B and hypoxic preconditioning against acute hypoxia injury in mice].

Aim: To investigate the protective effects of ginkgolide B and hypoxic preconditioning against acute hypoxia injury in mice.

Methods: Ordinary pressure acute hypoxia model in mice was adopted to observe the ethology, the duration of the death and the degree of brain edema. Meanwhile the expression of RTP801 mRNA and erythropoietin (EPO) were measured by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively.

Erxian tang--introduction of a Chinese herbal formula, clinical practice, and experimental studies.

Erxian Tang is a Chinese herbal formula developed for the treatment of menopausal syndrome in women. In the past 50 years, EXT has shown positive efficacy in the treatment of many chronic diseases in TCM, involving syndrome types of Shen yin-yang deficiency, yin-deficiency caused yang-flourishing, and disharmony of Chong-Ren meridian. Experimental studies have revealed that EXT has multiple pharmacological actions on such multiple targets as hypothalamus-pituitary-target gland axis, immune function and free radical metabolism, etc.

Introducing integrative East-West medicine to medical students and residents.

Over the last several years, many medical schools and residencies have introduced complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) into their curricula, prompting a discussion as to how CAM should be taught. In this paper, we share our experiences teaching medical trainees integrative East-West medicine, an approach to health and disease that brings together modern Western and Chinese medicine. A 2-week clinical rotation that is intimately tied to our busy clinical program is described in detail as we explore some of the challenges and opportunities involved in teaching a CAM-related field to medical trainees.